


Always

by Burgie



Category: Starshine Legacy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 13:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7847713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We're always there for each other!"- Alex when told that rescuing Anne might be dangerous</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always

Anne’s phone woke her up. She could sleep through every ringtone, but not this one. She always answered her phone when it was Alex calling. She didn’t know how it managed to reach through her sleeping mind, but it did.

“Alex, what are you calling me for? It’s the middle of the night,” said Anne. “And you know I have a show tomorrow.” There was a small, sad noise on the other end of the phone, and Anne immediately stopped joking around. “What happened?”

“Never mind, I shouldn’t have called you. I know that you’re too busy for my family problems,” said Alex.

“No! If you hang up, I’ll just come over there right now,” said Anne, sitting up in bed.

“No, you’ve got a show tomorrow, I’ll be fine,” said Alex.

“Oh, it’s just a small-town show, I could win it with my eyes closed,” said Anne. “Now tell me what happened.”

“Dad,” said Alex. Anne growled.

“That asshole,” said Anne. “What did he want this time?”

“Money,” said Alex. She sniffed. “He-“ Her voice choked off into a sob.

“I’m coming over,” said Anne. “Stay on the phone.” She got out of bed and grabbed a jacket and her purse, then ran out to the stables. 

_“Princess, it’s the middle of the night. Should we really be out riding?”_ said Concorde, though he allowed her to lead him out of the stables and mount him.

 _“It’s an emergency,”_ said Anne. On the phone, she could still hear Alex crying. There was the sound of something hitting the phone, and then Alex swore and Anne heard the pain in her voice.

“Oh, Alex, what did he do to you?” asked Anne, mentally telling Concorde to go as fast as he could. Her horse galloped down the long driveway to the main road, and she didn’t notice the purple glow around him in her worry over Alex.

“My hand has nothing to do with it,” said Alex, but Anne could hear the lie in her voice.

“I’m here now,” said Anne as the bright white light faded away, leaving her on Alex’s street. “I think we teleported. And you’ve got to stop putting your family over yourself, Alex. Your health and safety is important too.”

“That’s cool,” said Alex. Anne frowned and told Concorde to stay nearby but hidden, then walked up to the door. She heard her own knock at the door echoed from the phone at her ear.

“You can hang up now,” said Anne. “You’re probably in no state to open the door and hold a phone right now.” Alex laughed and ended the call, and then Anne waited while footsteps approached the door.

“Hey,” said Alex, opening the door. Her hair was in her eyes, and Anne could easily imagine her distraught girlfriend knocking her hat off from running her uninjured hand through her hair. Her injured hand was held awkwardly under her chest.

“Let’s go to your room to talk,” said Anne.

“Actually, can we not?” asked Alex. She stood aside to let Anne pass and then shut the door behind her, turning the several locks and sending a spark of lightning into a rune etched into the wood.

“Why not?” asked Anne. “We always go there to talk.”

“It’s, um… kind of a mess at the moment,” said Alex. Anne saw the gleam of tears in her eyes and decided to let the matter rest.

“You can tell me about it,” said Anne, just in case.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Alex. She walked over to the couch and sat down, making a small pained noise as the movement jostled her hand.

“Shh. Come here,” said Anne, pulling Alex close to her. She took Alex’s injured hand gently and looked at it. It looked painful, red and swollen. Alex trembled as she touched it.

“Should’ve known that I couldn’t catch a mortar,” said Alex. Anne frowned at her. “Jokes on him, though. I know how to teleport people now so I got rid of him.”

“Was it?” asked Anne.

“Mm-hm. I learned some pretty useful spells from those druid books Fripp gave me,” said Alex. She wiped her eyes with the back of her good hand. “I can do more than just Soul Strike now.”

“Like what?” asked Anne. “I’m going to call Lisa, your hand looks awful.”

“No, you don’t have to,” said Alex. “I know a rune to heal. But I can’t draw it because I’m right-handed.”

“Can I do it for you?” asked Anne.

“Yeah,” said Alex. “Just concentrate on your magic and draw it on my hand with your finger.” She got up and walked upstairs, returning a few moments later with a book tucked under her arm. She sat back down on her couch, put the book down, and turned to a certain page. She pointed to the rune and Anne focused for a moment before drawing it with her finger. Her finger tingled, and Alex’s skin did too from the uncomfortable look on her face.

“Now what?” asked Anne. Alex grit her teeth and sent a spark of magic into the faintly-glowing rune on her hand, then groaned as her bones knitted back together with crunching noises. She panted and flexed her hand, fresh tears on her face.

“Hell, that hurt,” said Alex. She gulped in air, still trembling from the pain. Anne pulled Alex into her arms, kissing her on the forehead.

“Do you have any other injuries?” asked Anne.

“No,” said Alex. “I’m physically fine now.”

“Did he really throw a mortar at you?” asked Anne.

“Yeah,” said Alex, nodding. “He, um…” She swallowed thickly, fresh tears coming to her eyes. “He came into my room looking for my stash of money and found my little alchemy setup. He called me a witch.”

“Oh, Alex, you’re not a witch,” said Anne, stroking Alex’s hair. “You’re a Soul Rider and a druid.”

“I know, but he said that I should be burned at the stake. And then I put a curse on him,” said Alex, and laughed. “Nah, not really. I just teleported him into the ocean with a little incantation.”

“He deserved it,” said Anne. “But are you really okay after he called you that?”

“I am now that you’re here,” said Alex. 

“How much money do you need?” asked Anne.

“No, don’t worry about that,” said Alex. “I don’t want him to have your money.”

“It’s not for him, Alex, it’s for you,” said Anne. “For your family.”

“Thank you,” said Alex, and hugged her, beginning to cry again. Anne just held her girlfriend, rubbing her back. She didn’t care that her sleep shirt was getting utterly drenched or tear-stained. She didn’t even mind that Alex rubbed her nose on her top. She just held Alex until she fell asleep in her arms.

And then Anne carried Alex up the stairs, and tried not to look too dismayed when she saw the ruins of Alex’s little setup. Something powdery had been spilled all over the floor, and Anne had to step around the mortar on the floor.

“Can you stay with me?” asked Alex when Anne laid her down on the bed.

“Of course,” said Anne. She couldn’t leave her girlfriend when she was this upset. She told Concorde to find Tin Can, and then she turned the light out and laid down beside her girlfriend. Alex wrapped her arms around her and pressed her face into Anne’s back. Anne rolled over and kissed her. Alex’s lips were salty, and more tears fell as she kissed her back.

“Gods, I love you,” Alex murmured, kissing her again. 

“I love you too,” said Anne. “Go to sleep, Alex.”

“But your show-“

“Shh.” Anne kissed her again. “I’m not leaving you like this.” She wrapped her arms around Alex.

“Alright,” said Alex. She exhaled heavily, releasing her tension as well. Anne felt it, and smiled.

The next morning, as promised, Anne was still there. She waited until Alex woke up, and then she only left after making sure that she was okay. And after leaving a generous amount of shillings and star coins on Alex’s bedside table. As she’d expected, Anne didn’t perform perfectly at the dressage show. But she still won.


End file.
